The challenge
Amazing Botanicals operates in a restricted category. In this space, email platforms and inbox providers watch sending behavior closely, and a single bad send can get an account suspended.
The brand came to us after working with several email agencies. Some had gotten their sending account shut down. Others kept the account alive but never moved revenue. As a result, the brand was rebuilt from a list of about 2,000 contacts, and a large part of its historical audience was stuck in a previous ESP that had been closed.
They needed a partner who could do two things at once: write campaigns and copy that actually connect with their audience, and understand the compliance and deliverability rules of a restricted market well enough to scale without putting the domain at risk.
Our approach
Phase 1
Compliance and deliverability foundation
Before sending a single email, we built the account around protecting the domain.
- Industry-specific sending rules. We built a content and sending framework based on the published policies of the ESP and the major inbox providers for this category. This included restricted terms, prohibited claims, and product language that could trigger filtering or legal exposure.
- Compliant copy guidelines. Every email followed rules for language around product benefits, so nothing could be read as a medical or prohibited claim.
- Age verification at signup. We added an age consent bar to the website. This kept the list compliant from the first touchpoint, made signup smoother, and gave us cleaner audience data to segment with.
- Authentication and domain setup. We configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC on a branded sending domain so inbox providers could trust the mail and attribute reputation to the brand.
Phase 2
Flows first
We started with automated flows because they get the highest-intent traffic, which for this brand came straight from paid ads. Flows also let us test messaging and creative in a controlled environment before sending to the wider list.
- Core flows built: Welcome Series, Browse Abandonment, Cart Abandonment, Checkout Abandonment, Post-Purchase, and Winback.
- Content testing. We used flows to test subject lines, product angles, and compliant copy variations, then carried the winners into campaigns.
Phase 3
Campaigns and push notifications
Once the flows were running and stable, we launched a regular campaign calendar alongside push notifications.
- Campaigns were designed to be on-brand, relevant to the audience, and built to convert, while staying inside the compliance framework.
- Engagement-based sending. Campaigns went to engaged segments first (recent openers, clickers, and purchasers), with the send audience widened gradually as reputation strengthened.
- Push notifications gave the brand a second owned channel for time-sensitive offers without adding volume to the inbox.
Phase 4
Controlled list migration and scale
After 60 days of stable sending with no deliverability issues, we began bringing back the audience from the brand's previous ESP.
- Warm-up periods. Migrated contacts were introduced in small, staged batches rather than all at once, so inbox providers saw a gradual, healthy increase in volume.
- Engagement tiering. Contacts were reintroduced starting with the most recently engaged. Unresponsive contacts were suppressed or sunset instead of being mailed indefinitely.
- Ongoing list hygiene. Regular sunset flows and suppression of inactive profiles kept engagement rates high and complaint rates low.
The results
- List growth from about 2,000 to over 50,000 contacts, built through migration, ad-driven signups, and audience management.
- $1.4M in email-attributed revenue in the last year.
- Zero account restrictions since onboarding, after multiple prior shutdowns with other agencies.
- A stable sending reputation that lets the brand focus on growth instead of damage control.
What this means for your brand
If you sell in a restricted or regulated category (supplements, botanicals, CBD, adult wellness, and similar), your email program carries risks most agencies never think about. Strong creative only matters if your emails reach the inbox and your account stays active.
- Deliverability before volume. Reputation is built first and scaled second.
- Compliance-aware copywriting. Copy that converts without crossing ESP, ISP, or legal lines.
- Flow-first strategy. Turning your paid traffic into revenue before scaling campaigns.
- Safe list recovery. Bringing old or migrated audiences back without triggering spam filters.
Selling in a restricted category? We build email programs that scale revenue without putting your domain at risk.
